わたの原寄せ来る波のしばしばも
見まくのほしき玉津島かも
見まくのほしき玉津島かも
- Roma-ji
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Wata no hara yosekuru nami no shibashiba mo mimaku no hoshiki tamatsushima kamo
- English Translation
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From the wide sea
the waves come rolling in,
and just as often
I long to see it once more:
the isle of Tamatsushima.
- Meaning
- As often as the waves roll in from the wide sea, so often do I long to see Tamatsushima.
- Commentary
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Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 912
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Using waves rolling endlessly in from the open sea as an introduction, the poem praises the beauty of Tamatsushima, which one longs to see again and again. The recurring waves are laid over the wish to return again and again. The author is unknown.
Tamatsushima is an island at Waka-no-ura in Kii, and its shrine later drew devotion as a shrine to the god of poetry.
First line "wata no hara" is the broad, open sea. Following "watatsumi" in the two preceding poems, poems on the sea continue.
Second line "yosekuru nami no" is the ever-rolling waves; the first two lines form a preface to shibashiba in the third.
Third line "shibashiba mo" means often, overlaying waves that come again and again with the wish to see again and again.
Fourth line "mimaku no hoshiki": maku is the nominalized form of mu, "wishing to see."
Fifth line "tamatsushima kamo" closes with the exclamatory final particle kamo, praising the scenic place.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Watatsumi no kazashi ni saseru shirotae no nami mote yueru awajishimayama
- Next Poem
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Naniwagata shio michikurashi amagoromo tamino no shima ni tazu nakiwataru